Reinventing the Abbott ruling in New Jersey

We have reached a watershed moment for public school funding in New Jersey.

After three weeks of hearings, a judge found Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to overhaul the state aid formula meets the constitutional requirement to provide a "thorough and efficient" education for every student.

If Judge Peter E. Doyne's recommendations are accepted by the state Supreme Court, it would mean the end of "Abbott" as we know it.

Since the high court's 1990 ruling known as Abbott vs. Burke II, certain school districts -- mostly urban, with high concentrations of poor residents and relatively low property values -- have been entitled to special state aid.

What began as a noble effort to equalize educational opportunity has, over time, developed its own inequities. Judge Doyne, appointed by the Supreme Court to review the new funding plan, took full measure of the Abbott system:

‡¤Total state aid to the 31 Abbott districts for 2008-2009 is $4.65 billion -- 55 percent of all state aid to schools.

‡¤Twenty-three percent of students are in Abbott districts; 77 percent in non-Abbotts. And 49 percent of students considered to be disadvantaged are in non-Abbott districts.

‡¤Districts in the lowest socio-economic categories that are not considered sufficiently "urban" to qualify under Abbott are deprived of the benefits.

‡¤On average, the Abbott districts are actually capable of raising more local tax money per pupil than some wealthier districts.

"The time for reform is now," Judge Doyne wrote.

By and large, we think the judge got it right.

The central idea of Corzine's funding plan is that aid for disadvantaged students follows the students, not the boundaries of 31 districts. The new formula takes into account a number of variables to provide extra assistance where it is needed to help children who are poor, have limited English proficiency or are in need of special education.

However, a lot will depend on whether the state continues to live up to the spirit of Abbott. Time will tell if the end result of this new formula leaves poor children in urban districts more vulnerable than before, and if gains under Abbott evaporate under new economic pressures. Corzine has demonstrated his commitment to education, one of the only areas where his new budget proposal calls for more spending, but his policies will not bind future governors and lawmakers.

There is no denying that over the years, non-Abbott districts have watched in dismay as their property taxes went through the roof, and Abbott districts such as Newark, Paterson -- and even Jersey City and Hoboken -- got billions of additional aid. There was a growing sense that the Abbott designation had outlived its usefulness, had calcified around old arguments and circumstances that no longer applied.

But we also think it was correct for Doyne to leave the door open for supplemental funding for three years. There are a lot of unknowns about how the state will implement its plan, and if Abbott experience is any guide, there's a lot that can go wrong.

School construction in the Abbott districts was a debacle as a result of state mismanagement. Administrators in the Abbott districts have complained of an onerous and often adversarial process for obtaining supplemental funds when needed. The judge urged the court to require improvements in that process.

Abbott funding allowed many urban districts to effect real change in ways that have improved the education of poor children, including providing early childhood classes, smaller class sizes, professional development for teachers and better facilities. It defined a basic standard for urban districts, cast a harsh spotlight on inequities and required the state to take responsibility for addressing those failings.

The sentiment that Abbott districts have become mere money pits is not borne out by any number of independent audits. One former school official noted that a two-year audit of the Newark Public Schools by KPMG questioned $400,000 out of $2 billion in spending. That's a better record than any number of corporations under the spotlight in recent days.

We've long known that urban school districts with concentrated poverty have special needs beyond what the schools are equipped to address. With or without Abbott, the burden remains on the state to fulfill its obligations for the students with the greatest need -- wherever they live.